The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-03-09

have ciarnbered up ON the cross ana hung
there herself IL her son could have been re-
lievedi How strengthening she would have
been 10 Christ il she might have come close
by him and soothed hint On, there was a
good deal In what the little sick child said.
upon whom a surgical operation Of a painful
nature must be performed. The doctor said:
"That child won't live through this operation
unless you encourage him. You 20 in and
get his consent The father told him all the
doctor said, and added: @Now, John. will ron
go through with TT VIII YOU consent 10 itgs
He looked very pale, and he thought a
minute, and said YES, father, if you viii hold
my hand, will So the father held his band.
and led him straight through the peril Oh,
woman, In your hour of anguish, whom do
you want with your Mother. Young man,
in your hour Of trouble, who do you want to
console you2 Mother. If the mother of
Jesus could only have taken those bleeding
feet into her lap! If she might have taken
the dying head on her bosoIni If she might
have said 70 Him: ut viii soon be over,
| Jesus; it win soon be over, and we will meet
| again and it will be all WELL But no, she
dared not come up so close They would
have struck her back with their hammers.
| They would have kicked her down the hill
There can be no alienation at all. Jesus
| A
| she thought Of the birth hour in bethlehem.
| l suppose she thought of the time when with
| her boy In her bosom she fastened on in the
darkness in the flight towards Egypt I sup
pose she thought of his boyhood, when he
/ was the ioy Of her heart. / suppose she
| thought Of the thousand ldndnesses he had
| done her, not forsaking her or forgetting her,
even in his last moment, but turning to John
and saying: There is mother; take her with
| you She is old now. She cannot help her
| self Do for her just l would have done
| for her if ] had lived. Be very tender ard
| gentle with her. Behold thy motheri" She
thought it all over, and there is no memory
ike mothers memory and there is woe
| like mothers woe.
| remark again: This is q tender scene be-
cause il is n Christian reunion Why was it
| that in the seasonal meeting, when | asked a
woman if it were her son who sat next to her,
| making profession of his faith, she made no
answer, but after moment trying to con-
| troll her emotion she burst into tears | said
within myself sine need net tell me the story.
1t is the old story of prodigal got back.
| n1'he dead is alive, and the lost is found Oh
| how many families there are that rejoice to-
gether to-day
| These Christians during the rest of the year,
| perhaps, viii not know much about each
p
| go in some other circle of society, and this
one travels in that path and this one tne
other path but to-day we all come on one
platform, and we make one confession, and
we cling to one cross, and we gaze upon one
death anguish. 1t seems to me this morning
not like church, but like a great family. circle,
and we join hands around the cross of Christ
| and we say "One lord, one faith, one bap-
tisrn, one cross, one Christ, one doxology, one
| heavenp While stand here it seems to me as
if this communion table, which is only seven
or eight feet long, and three or four feet
wide, widens until all the Christians of our
own denomination can sit at it; and still the
table widens until all the Christians in this
land of all names and denominations come
and sit at it. and still the table widens ursl
it bridges the sea, and Christians on the
other side of the Atlantic come and sit at
it; and still that table widens, until the re-
deemed of heaven mingle in the communion.
Church militant, church triumphant.